THE WOOL MARKET

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 83, 9 April 1934, Page 12

THE WOOL MARKET

NEW ZEALAND SALES

The Bank of New South Wales is advised by its London, office, April 0, that as.to the wool market •'Business is quiet; prices are steady.'.' The next London sales were fixed • tor April' 24. They1 have -been postponed until May 1 in consequence of Germany's temporary withdrawal from the wool market. " •■ •■ •■■-,, . Germany's suspension of wool-buying was attributed to pressure upon foreign exchange balances and gold reserves. It was found necessary to curtail imports ot most classes of goods. Imports of wool, cotton, and other fibres are now controlled, and imports of these, materials, forbidden. Germany is endeavouring to reach a position of self-sufficiency in many industries, but has less hope" with wool than with many others. : Accdrdinf? ;to the Berlin correspondent -of the '-Economist, wool production in- Germany will be regulated nnd home-produced wool will be marketed only through one of several boards, prices will be fixed, and measures will be taken to ensure uniformity.in breeds of-sheep. At present Germany produces only .9 per cent, of the wool that she -requires, and this wool is shorn from 3.400.000 sheep. lo be self-supporting, flocks of 35,000,000 sheep would be needed, -and Germany is not likely to encourage sheep raising at the expense of crops essential to her economy. It is evident that Germany is" determined upon the utmost economy in the-importa-tion of raw materials, and her position as a customer at the Australian sales' will suffer. Last year Germany ranked fourth among buyers of Australian wool, taking 120,000,0001b, valued at £4,550,000, _a ml in the season just closing she increased the quantity purchased. Wellington's filial wool sale is fixed for April 24, at 9 a.m. The total .catalogue offered at the final ■Wellington sale last year was 11,481 bales. A catalogue much reduced on these figures is expected to be submitted at the sale on April 24: Dunediu wool sales, the last of the current season, will open at 2 p.m. tomorrow. The offering at this time last year was 14.000 bales. . . Final New Zealand sales ■ are to be nekl at Wanganui on Ap4'il 17 and Napier on April 20.